First Finger Foods for Baby

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Today's post is all about exploring early finger and table foods for your growing baby!  This stage in the feeding process is always a bit stressful for me, as choking can be a danger, and I really want my babies to have the healthiest foods possible. So, what are the best and safest foods for little ones to first feast on once they are ready?? Here are some delicious suggestions!

In one of my favorite feeding books called "Superfoods for Babies and Children" by Annabel Karmel, she gives some delightful suggestions for feeding little ones so that they are eating foods that are good for them, but also safe enough that they can chew them easily. Karmel states that "fruits make good finger food, and if your baby finds it difficult to chew, to begin with give soft fruits that melt in the mouth, like banana, peach and kiwifruit." She also states that, "fingers of toast tend to work better than plain bread as they do not fall to pieces so readily."

On the "Momtastic's Wholesome Baby Food" website I found a wonderful link that highlights Homemade Baby Finger Food Recipes & Ideas for Offering Your Baby Nutritious Finger Foods. This link offers safe and delicious ways to present solid fruits and vegetables, as well as some tasty grains and proteins. I love these ideas, as they provide practical ways to feed babies food in its most natural and basic form.

• Fruit suggestions include: small bits of avocado, small bits of ripe mango and ripe pear
• Vegetable suggestions include: small diced pieces of baked potato and/or sweet potato, soft cooked peas, broccoli and green beans, small bits of baked butternut squash
• Proteins/Grains suggestions: cubed tofu, scrambled egg yolks and small pieces of soft cheese

In addition to these wonderful all-natural first finger food suggestions, the site also suggests grinding up cheerios, graham crackers, wheat germ, etc. into a fine powder and coat the food bits for easier pick-up. View the complete website link here

Almost as important as knowing what to feed your sweet baby is also knowing what NOT to feed them. The following is a list of potential choking hazards from "Kids Health from Nemours" website:

• pieces of raw vegetables or hard fruits
• whole grapes, berries, cherry or grape tomatoes (instead, peel and slice or cut in quarters)
• raisins and other dried fruit
• peanuts, nuts and seeds
• peanut butter and other nut or seed butters
• whole hot dogs and kiddie sausages (peel and cut these in very small pieces)
• untoasted bread, especially white bread that sticks together
• chunks of cheese or meat
• candy (hard candy, jelly beans, gummies, chewing gum)
• popcorn, pretzels, corn chips and other snack foods
• marshmallows

Join me next week for some delicious recipes just for baby!